From 2022, slot machines within Zurich will be allowed outside of casinos for the first time since 1994.
A direct result of the Federal Gambling Act, which was approved via a referendum three years ago, slot machines will be allowed in restaurants, bars and slot halls.
“The voters have realised that the new slot machines are something completely different,” noted FDP Cantonal councillor, Christian Müller. “The ban from that time is no longer relevant. This was also proven by experiences from the surrounding cantons, where slot machines have been back for a long time and there has not been a dramatic increase in gambling addiction.”
As part of the change, slot machine operators in Zurich will have to pay 10 per cent of the gross revenue to the canton – more than any other canton – with the money set to filter into the prevention and treatment of gambling addiction.
To continue its ban on slots outside of casinos, the canton would also have had to ban online gaming. Proponents of the new law had claimed player protection for slot gaming has improved since 1994.
Under the terms of the reintroduction, slot machines outside of casino games need to be designed with the notion of players becoming more skilled over time, increasing their chances of winning with maximum wagers and winnings limited,
Mark Wisskirchen, Cantonal councillor and managing director of the EPP, added: “Instead of levying a levy on gaming revenue and investing it in prevention, it would be wiser to practice prevention at the root and not set up machines. Now the canton is torpedoing its own prevention efforts.”